New IUPUI classroom building to impact parking on campus

IUPUI will soon begin construction on its newest building, the Multidisciplinary Research and Classroom Building. The Indiana University Board of Trustees approved the architectural design for the building, to be located at the eastern edge of campus, in October 2018.

View print quality imageA rendering of the Multidisciplinary Research and Classroom Building.Rendering courtesy of the Office of the Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities

The MDRCB, as it is affectionately referred to, will be built on what is currently Lot 83 -- a surface parking lot at the corner of Michigan and Blackford streets, immediately west of the Informatics and Communications Technology Complex. IUPUI Parking Services has a plan to accommodate the loss of that lot by shifting parking spaces in the surrounding area.

In the coming weeks, parking spaces in the lot will close in phases to make way for construction. Dates could be subject to change, but a general timeline calls for the following:

On or about April 22, parking spaces in the northern half of the lot will be unavailable to allow workers to mobilize equipment and locate utilities. Parking will be available in the southern section of the lot.

On or about April 29, parking spaces in the southern half of the lot will be unavailable to allow workers to mobilize equipment and locate utilities. Parking will be available in the northern section of the lot.

On or about May 6, the lot will close permanently, and no parking spaces will be available.

A state-of-the-art space

The Multidisciplinary Research and Classroom Building is an adaptable facility that will meet evolving teaching and research needs for programs in the School of Science, the School of Engineering and Technology, and the School of Informatics and Computing.

It will include a state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research and lab space, a cleanroom environment, a makerspace, and modernized classrooms and collaborative learning spaces.

The first floor will be home to three major classrooms, as well as an informal student lounge and seating area. The classrooms include a 215-seat tiered lecture hall, an 81-seat active learning space with movable chairs and tables, and a 125-seat active learning space where the faculty member is in the middle. Shaped like a football, that space has two tiers of seats that swivel to encourage collaboration.

The second and third floors will contain engineering and science labs, as well as more classrooms.

The exterior will be clad in precast concrete and metal panel materials similar to the Campus Center and the James J. Fritts, DDS Clinical Care Center. A two-story glass curtain wall on the north side of the facility will create an open student study area facing Michigan Street, and stairwells at the main entries will also bring natural light indoors.

A groundbreaking ceremony will take place April 23 in Hine Hall, and construction is expected to finish in August 2020.

What about parking?

Since construction of the Multidisciplinary Research and Classroom Building will essentially remove what's known as Surface Lot 83 from IUPUI's parking space inventory, IUPUI Parking Services has a plan.

Lot 83 is currently designated for individuals with EM permits. As construction begins, IUPUI Parking Services will allocate about half of the parking spaces in student lots 73 and 85 to accommodate the closure of Lot 83. That means lots 73 and 85 will serve both employees and students.

Students with ST permits may still park in the Gateway parking garage.

Additional disability spaces for those with D permits will be made available in Lot 73 near the crosswalk on Michigan Street.